View source for King Mu of Zhou

{{Short description|Fifth king of the Zhou dynasty}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name  = King Mu of Zhou<br/>周穆王
| succession = [[Zhou dynasty#Kings|King of the Zhou dynasty]]
| reign = 976 BC–922 BC
| predecessor = [[King Zhao of Zhou]]
| successor = [[King Gong of Zhou]]
| full name = [[Chinese surname|Ancestral name]]: [[Ji (Zhou dynasty ancestral surname)|Jī]] (姬)<br/>Given name: Mǎn (滿)
| birth_name = Ji Man (姬滿)
| birth_date = 992 BC
| death_date = 922 BC
| posthumous name = King Mu (穆王) ''or'' King Miu (繆王)
| father = [[King Zhao of Zhou]]
| mother = Queen Fang
| spouse = Wang Zu Jiang<br />Sheng Ji
| issue = [[King Gong of Zhou|Ji Yihu, King Gong of Zhou]]<br />[[King Xiao of Zhou|Ji Bifang, King Xiao of Zhou]]<br />Baozong, Viscount of Xu<br />Shuqie
| house = Ji
| dynasty = [[Zhou dynasty|Zhou]] ([[Western Zhou]])
}}
{{chinese
|altname=Posthumous name |c2={{linktext|周|穆|王}} |p2=Zhōu Mù Wáng |w2=Chou Mu-wang<br>King Mu of Chou |l2=The Solemn King of Zhou
}}
'''King Mu of Zhou''' ({{zh|c=周穆王|p=Zhōu Mù Wáng}}), personal name '''Ji Man''', was the fifth [[Chinese sovereign|king]] of the [[Zhou dynasty]] of China. The dates of his reign are 976–922 BC or 956–918 BC.<ref>''Cambridge History of Ancient China''</ref><ref>''Sources of Western Zhou History: Inscribed Bronze Vessels'' by Edward L. Shaughnessy</ref>

==Life==
[[File:King Mu of Zhou & Queen Mother of the West.jpg|thumb|[[Joseon]] painting ''Yoji yeondo'' (요지연도) depicting King Mu visiting the goddess [[Queen Mother of the West]] at Yaochi in the mythical mountain [[Kunlun (mythology)|Kunlun]].]]

King Mu came to the throne after his father [[King Zhao of Zhou|King Zhao]]’s death during the [[Zhou–Chu War|Zhou-Chu war]]. King Mu was perhaps the most pivotal king of the Zhou dynasty, reigning nearly 55 years, from ca. 976 BC to ca. 922 BC. Mu was more ambitious than wise, yet he was able to introduce reforms that changed the nature of the Zhou government, transforming it from a hereditary system to one that was based on merit and knowledge of administrative skills.<ref>[[Annping Chin|Chin, Annping]]. (2007). ''The Authentic Confucius''. Scrubner. {{ISBN|0-7432-4618-7}}</ref>

Mu tried to stamp out invaders in the western part of China and ultimately expand Zhou’s influence to the east. In the height of his passion for conquests, he led an immense army against the [[Quanrong]], who inhabited the western part of China. His travels allowed him to contact many tribes and swayed them to either join under the Zhou banner or be conquered in war with his army. This expedition may have been more of a failure than a success, judging by the fact that he brought back only four white wolves and four white deer. Unintentionally and inadvertently, he thus sowed the seeds of hatred which culminated in an invasion of [[China]] by the same tribes in 771 BC. In his thirteenth year the Xu Rong, probably the [[Xu (state)|state of Xu]] in the southeast, [[Xu (state)#Conflict with the Zhou dynasty and rise to power|raided]] near the eastern capital of [[Luoyang|Chengzhou]]. The war seems to have ended in a truce in which the state of Xu gained land and power in return for nominal submission.

However, despite his success, traditional historiography viewed him with controversy. While some praise his victories against the Quanrong, others criticized him for from his time, the fourth border state no longer entered into a relationship with the Zhou dynasty. Even still, the Shang Shu credited him with establishing the first systematic legal code in China.

Mu was reputed in narratives to have lived until the age of 105 and to have traveled to the mythical mountain known as [[Kunlun (mythology)|Kunlun]] - a popular later work is the ''[[Tale of King Mu, Son of Heaven]]''.

His successor was his son [[King Gong of Zhou]].

==In mythology==
{{main|Tale of King Mu, Son of Heaven}}
One [[Religion in China|Chinese myth]] tells a story about Mu, who dreamed of becoming an [[xian (Taoism)|immortal]].<ref>{{cite book|first=Rémi|last=Mathieu|title=Le Mu Tianzi Zhuan|page=198}}</ref><ref>Nienhauser, "Origins of Chinese Literature," p. 201</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Needham|first=Joseph|year=1986|series=Science and Civilization in China|volume=3|title=Mathematics and the Sciences of the Heavens and the Earth|location=Taipei|publisher=Caves Books}}</ref> He was determined to visit the divine paradise of Kunlun and taste the [[Peaches of Immortality]]. A brave charioteer named [[Zaofu]] used his chariot to carry the king to his destination.<ref name=Porter>{{cite book|first=Deborah Lynn|last=Porter|title=From deluge to discourse: myth, history, and the generation of Chinese fiction|publisher=SUNY Press|year=1996}}</ref> The ''Tale of King Mu, Son of Heaven'', a fourth-century BC romance, describes Mu’s visit to the Queen Mother of the West.<ref name=CK>{{cite web|url=http://chinaknowledge.org/Literature/Novels/mutianzizhuan.html|title=Mu Tianzi zhuan 穆天子傳 'The story of King Mu, the Son of Heaven'|access-date=3 November 2010|work=CHINAKNOWLEDGE – a universal guide for China studies}}</ref><ref name=Shaughnessy>{{cite book|first=Edward L.|last=Shaughnessy|title=Rewriting Early Chinese Texts|publisher=SUNY Press|year=2006}}</ref> Late Tang dynasty poet [[Li Shangyin]] retold the story in a poem of four lines.<ref>{{citation
|last=Li Shangyin
|author-link=Li Shangyin
|section=瑤池
|volume=卷539
|title=Complete Tang Poetry
|script-title=zh:全唐詩
|access-date=2022-08-11
|url=https://zh.m.wikisource.org/wiki/%E7%91%A4%E6%B1%A0
|editor=Peng Dingqiu (彭定求)
|display-editors=etal
|year=1705
}}{{User-generated source|date=August 2022}}</ref>

==Automaton==
In the 3rd century BC text of the ''[[Liezi]]'', there is a curious account on automata involving a much earlier encounter between Mu of Zhou and a mechanical engineer known as Yan Shi, an 'artificer'. The latter proudly presented the king with a life-size, human-shaped figure of his mechanical 'handiwork':

<blockquote>
The king stared at the figure in astonishment. It walked with rapid strides, moving its head up and down, so that anyone would have taken it for a live human being. The artificer touched its chin, and it began singing, perfectly in tune. He touched its hand, and it began posturing, keeping perfect time... As the performance was drawing to an end, the robot winked its eye and made advances to the ladies in attendance, whereupon the king became incensed and would have had Yen Shih (Yan Shi) executed on the spot had not the latter, in mortal fear, instantly taken the robot to pieces to let him see what it really was. And, indeed, it turned out to be only a construction of leather, wood, adhesive and lacquer, variously coloured white, black, red and blue. Examining it closely, the king found all the internal organs complete—liver, gall, heart, lungs, spleen, kidneys, stomach and intestines; and over these again, muscles, bones and limbs with their joints, skin, teeth and hair, all of them artificial... The king tried the effect of taking away the heart, and found that the mouth could no longer speak; he took away the liver and the eyes could no longer see; he took away the kidneys and the legs lost their power of locomotion. The king was delighted.<ref name="needham volume 2 53">Needham, Volume 2, 53.</ref>
</blockquote>

==Family==
Queens:
* Wang Zu Jiang, of the Jiang clan ({{lang|zh|王俎姜 姜姓}})

Concubines:
* Sheng Ji, of the Ji clan of Cheng ({{lang|zh|盛姬 姬姓}}), a royal of Cheng by birth; buried with queenly honours

Sons:
* Crown Prince Yihu ({{lang|zh|太子繄扈}}; d. 900 BC), ruled as [[King Gong of Zhou]] from 921–900 BC
* Prince Bifang ({{lang|zh|王子闢方}}; d. 886 BC), ruled as [[King Xiao of Zhou]] from 891–886 BC
* Prince Baozong ({{lang|zh|王子寶宗}}), ruled as the Viscount of [[Xu (state)|Xu]]

Daughters:
* A daughter whose personal name was Shuqie ({{lang|zh|叔㛗}})

==See also==
* [[Family tree of Chinese monarchs (ancient)]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
*Needham, Joseph (1986). ''Science and Civilization in China: Volume 2''. Taipei: Caves Books Ltd.

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{{s-hou|[[Zhou dynasty]]||||922 BC}}
{{s-reg}}
{{s-bef
| before = [[King Zhao of Zhou]]
}}
{{s-ttl|
| title = [[List of Chinese monarchs|King of China]]
| years = 977–922 BC
}}
{{s-aft
| after = [[King Gong of Zhou]]
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Kings of Zhou}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mu of Zhou, King}}
[[Category:Kings of the Zhou dynasty]]
[[Category:10th-century BC Chinese monarchs]]
[[Category:10th-century BC deaths]]